The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ahern, rounded-off his pre-Christmas visit to the Irish community in London yesterday with a reminder that many suffer a heightened sense of isolation in the "Season of Goodwill".
Speaking during a visit to Cricklewood Homeless Concern in north London, the Minister said: "It is a sad fact that the flip side of the celebratory air of Christmas is that some people feel a heightened sense of isolation and loneliness at this time." He accompanied this comment with a capital grant from the Dion Fund of €100,000 to celebrate the efforts of those "working at the coalface with our vulnerable people."
The Minister also visited the Safe Start Foundation in Cricklewood which offers employment, training and housing advice to its target group of Irish arrivals.
Earlier, visiting the London Irish Centre in Camden, he said he was delighted that organisations working with vulnerable Irish citizens would receive some €7 million Dion funding in 2005.